Wasim Akram وسیم اکرم Personal information Full name Wasim Akram Chaudhry Born 3 June 1966 (1966-06-03) (age 44) Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan Nickname Sultan of Swing, The Two W's (with Waqar Younis), King Of Swing Height 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Batting style Left hand bat Bowling style Left arm fast Role (All-rounder) bowler and batsman International information National side Pakistan Test debut (cap 102) 25 January 1985 v New Zealand Last Test 9 January 2002 v Bangladesh ODI debut (cap 53) 23 November 1984 v New Zealand Last ODI 4 March 2003 v Zimbabwe ODI shirt no. 3 Domestic team information Years Team 2003 Hampshire 2000-2001 Lahore 1997-1998 Lahore 1992-2002 Pakistan International Airlines 1988-1998 Lancashire 1986-1987 Lahore 1985-1986 Lahore 1984-1986 Pakistan Automobiles Corporation Career statistics Competition Test ODI FC LA Matches 104 356 257 594 Runs scored 2898 3717 7161 6993 Batting average 22.64 16.52 22.73 18.90 100s/50s 3/7 0/6 7/24 0/17 Top score 257* 86 257* 89* Balls bowled 22627 18186 50278 29719 Wickets 414 502 1042 881 Bowling average 23.62 23.52 21.64 21.91 5 wickets in innings 25 6 70 12 10 wickets in match 5 0 16 0 Best bowling 7/119 5/15 8/30 5/10 Catches/stumpings 44/0 88/0 97/0 147/0 Source: CricketArchive, 11 January 2008 Wasim Akram (Urdu: وسیم اکرم) born 3 June 1966 is a former Pakistani left arm fast bowler and left-handed batsman in cricket, who represented the Pakistan national cricket team in Test cricket and One Day International matches. Akram is regarded as one of the best fast bowlers in the history of cricket. He holds the world record for most wickets in List A cricket with 881 and is second only to Sri Lankan off-spin bowler, Muttiah Muralitharan in terms of One Day International wickets with 502. He is considered to be one of the founders and perhaps the finest exponent of reverse swing bowling.123 The revolutionary nature of reverse swing initially resulted in accusations of ball tampering by cricket critics, although the skill of the reverse swing delivery has now been accepted as a legitimate features of ability in cricket. Akram's later career was also tarnished with accusations of match fixing by critics, although these remain unproven. On 30 September 2009, Akram was one of five new members inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame.4 Contents 1 Early and personal life 2 International career 2.1 First-class cricket 2.2 Test cricket 2.3 One Day International 2.4 Retirement 3 Post retirement 3.1 Media career 3.2 Coaching career 4 Skills in cricket 5 Award and records 6 Cricket controversies 7 References 8 External links Early and personal life

Akram was born in 1966, in Lahore, Pakistan.5 He is a Punjabi Muslim and belongs to the Arain tribe.citation needed He was educated in Islamia College in Lahore, where he played as an opening bowler and batsman.5 Like several other Pakistani cricketers during the 1980s, his inclusion into the national side was at the behest of a senior player in the team, which in Akram's case, was Javed Miandad.6 Akram was diagnosed with diabetes at the peak of his career, but despite the initial psychological blow, he managed to regain his form and went on to produce fine cricketing performances. Since then he has actively sought to be involved in various awareness-raising campaigns for diabetes.7 He was married to Huma Mufti, in 1995. They had two sons Taimur and Akbar,8 from their marriage of fifteen years. Huma died of multiple organ failure at Apollo Hospital in Chennai, India, on 25 October 2009.9 International career First-class cricket In 1988 he signed for Lancashire County Cricket Club in England and went on to become their most successful overseas players. From 1988 to 1998, he opened their bowling attack in their ECB Trophy, Benson & Hedges Cup and National League tournaments. He was a favourite of the local British fans who used to sing a song called "Wasim for England" at Lancashire's matches. In 1998, with Akram as captain, Lancashire won the ECB Trophy and Axa League and finished second in the championship tournament despite losing only five matches in all competitions throughout the season. Apart from the National League second division title in 2003, this was the last time Lancashire won a trophy.10 Test cricket Akram made his Test cricket debut for Pakistan against New Zealand in 1985 and in only his second Test match, he achieved 10 wickets in the match. A few weeks prior to his selection into the Pakistan team, he was an unknown club cricketer who had failed to even make it to his college team. He came to the trials at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in Pakistan, but for the first two days he did not get a chance to bowl. On the third day he got a chance; his performance convincing Javed Miandad to insist upon his inclusion in the national team. Akram was hence given an opportunity to play for Pakistan, without any significant domestic experience. Later that season he opened the bowling attack with Imran Khan, who became his mentor at and after the World Championship of Cricket in Australia.

In the 1987 Cricket World Cup, when Pakistan played against the West Indies, Akram bowled to Viv Richards in the late overs of the innings but Richards, who is regarded as the best batsman during that period, struggled against Akram's bowling performances. Akram's rise in international cricket was rapid during the late 1980s. When Pakistan toured the West Indies in 1988, he looked to be the fastest bowler between the two sides. However, a groin injury impeded his career in the late 1980s. Following two surgeries, he re-emerged in the 1990s as a fast bowler who focused more on swing and accurate bowling. One Day International Akram was a significant figure in the 1992 Cricket World Cup held in Australia, when Pakistan won the tournament. In the final against England, his batting performance during his innings of 33 runs off 19 balls, pushed Pakistan to a respectable score of 249 runs for 6 wickets. Akram then took the important wicket of Ian Botham early on the English batting innings and when brought back into the bowling attack later on, with the ball reverse swinging, he produced a devastating spell of bowling which led to Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis being bowled in successive deliveries in one over. His excellent performances earned him the Man of the Match award for the final.1112 He also captained Pakistan with some success. The high points of his captaincy was the 1996-1997 victory in the World Series Cricket in Australia, two Test match wins in India in 1998-1999 and in 1999, when Pakistan reached the 1999 Cricket World Cup final. The low point was the 1996 Cricket World Cup in Pakistan and India, when he had to pull out of the quarter final match against India, citing injury. After Pakistan's defeat, there were angry protests outside his home and riots across the country from angry fans who accused the team of throwing the match and a government inquiry was launched into the failure. In 1999, he led Pakistan to the brink of victory in the World Cup before they capitulated and was defeated by Australia in the final, by eight wickets with almost 30 overs to spare. This was the start of the match fixing controversies, as critics believed Akram had set up the match for Australia. However, none of the allegations could be proved. He was Pakistan's best bowler in the 2003 Cricket World Cup taking 19 wickets in 7 matches. However, Pakistan failed to reach the "Super Six" phase of the tournament and Akram was one of the eight players to be sacked by the Pakistan Cricket Board as a result. Retirement

On May 18, 2003, at the age of 36, Akram abruptly announced his retirement from international cricket, ending a career which spanned 19 years. He had suggested that he was ready to quit several times towards the end of his career, but Pakistan's sub-par performance in the World Cup proved to be the deciding factor. Prior to his retirement, he was one of eight senior players dropped for the Sharjah Cup in April 2003, and was then omitted from the Pakistan squad for the subsequent Bank Alfalah Cup triangular series.13 Due to his omission from the team, he did not participate in a farewell match. Akram fulfilled his contract play for Hampshire until the end of the English season. Post retirement Media career Since retiring from cricket, Akram has worked and taken up commentary for television networks and can currently be seen as a sports commentator for ESPN Star Sports, ARY Digital and among others. He did commentary on a variety of sporting tournaments including the 2009 Women's Cricket World Cup match between Australia v India in a Super Six Match held in Australia, the 2009 ICC World Twenty20 in England, the 2009 ICC Champions Trophy in South Africa, in various matches of 2011 ICC World Cup in India, Srilanka, Bangladesh and among others. Coaching career In 2010, Akram was appointed the bowling coach consultant of Kolkata Knight Riders, the Indian Premier League team for Kolkata. Sourav Ganguly was always keen to have Akram as the bowling coach for India, during the former's stint as Indian captain. Although this never happened, his dreams were realised to some extent, when Akram was appointed as the bowling coach for the franchise.14 While working for the Kolkata Knight Riders, he was also responsible for the signing of Pakistani domestic left-arm fast-bowler Mohammad Irfan.15 Akram has also been coaching in Pakistan fast bowling camps; his most notable discovery being the teenage Pakistani international, Mohammad Aamer. Skills in cricket “ Over my 15 or 16 years of playing international cricket in Tests and One Day Internationals, Wasim Akram is definitely the most outstanding bowler I've ever faced. ” — Former West Indies batsman Brian Lara.16 During his professional career he bowled with genuine speed and hostility. Akram was a man possessed of accurate control of line and length, accompanied by seam and swing bowling skills, extended to both inswingers and outswingers. With a very quick bowling action, he could bowl equally well from both sides of the wicket. His mastery of reverse swing with the cricket ball meant he was at his most dangerous towards a bowling innings, and earned him the nickname of one of the "Sultans of Swing", the other one being Waqar Younis.

As well as often being able to find the edge of the bat, Akram would also focus his bowling attack on the stumps and had a particularly lethal inswinging yorker. Of his 414 Test wickets, 193 were taken caught, 119 were taken leg before wicket and 102 were bowled.171819 In partnership with Waqar Younis, he intimidated international batsmen in the 1990s. Together Wasim and Waqar, known as "the two Ws" of the Pakistani team, were one of the most successful bowling partnerships in cricket.20 Akram was also skilled with the bat and was regarded as a bowling all-rounder. He was especially effective against spin bowlers. However, he liked to slog and was criticised for his lack of high scores and giving away his wicket too cheaply for a player of his talent. He did silence his critics and the media in October 1996 when he scored 257 runs not out, of the team's total of 553 against Zimbabwe at Sheikhupura. He also achieved good scores for the Pakistan team such as his scores of 123 and 45* against Australia to take Pakistan to victory in a low scoring match. His batting was also valuable to the Pakistan ODI side, such as his match winning performance in the Nehru Cup, when needing six runs and two balls to win the match; he hit the first delivery he faced for six runs and secured the cup. Award and records See also: List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by Wasim Akram Akram was awarded Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1993 for his sporting achievements. In his Test career, Akram took 414 wickets in 104 matches, a Pakistani record, at an average of 23.62 and scored 2,898 runs, at an average of 22.64.21 In One Day Internationals, Akram took 502 wickets in 356 appearances, at an average of 23.52 and scored 3,717 runs, at an average of 16.52.2 Akram was the first bowler in international cricket to take more than 400 wickets in both forms of the game and only Muttiah Muralitharan has since achieved this.221 Akram also held the record for the most wickets in Cricket World Cups, a total of 55 in 38 matches. Australia's Glenn McGrath broke the record during the 2007 Cricket World Cup, ending with a final tally of 71 from 39 matches.22 On passing Wasim's record, McGrath said, "Wasim Akram, to me, is one of the greatest bowlers of all time. Left-armer, swung it both ways with the new ball and he was so dangerous with the old ball. To go past him is something I will always remember. Probably the other side of the coin is that if you play long enough, you're going to break records here and there."23 Akram took four hat-tricks in international cricket, two each in Tests matches and One Day Internationals. He is the only bowler in cricket to have achieved four hat-tricks. He was the third of only three bowlers to have taken two Test cricket hat-tricks, the others being Hugh Trumble and Jimmy Matthews. Akram was also the first of only four bowlers to have taken two One Day International cricket hat-tricks, the others being Pakistan offspin bowler, Saqlain Mushtaq and Sri Lankan fast bowlers Chaminda Vaas and Lasith Malinga. Akram's Test hat-tricks are significant, since they were taken in consecutive Test matches in the same series, a game played against Sri Lanka in the 1998-99 Asian Test Championship. Akram is also one of only two bowlers to have taken both a Test match and One Day International hat-trick, the other being Pakistan fast bowler, Mohammad Sami.2425 Playing in a Test series against the West Indies at Lahore in 1990-1991, he became one of only six players to have taken four wickets in an over during a Test match. In Akram's case, these achievement was not part of a hat-trick, the third ball he delivered to the batting opposition was a dropped catch, which allowed a single run.2627 Akram has also achieved the highest score by a number eight batsman in Test cricket when he scored 257 runs not out from 363 balls against Zimbabwe at Sheikhupura. The innings contained 12 sixes which is also a world record for Test cricket.2829 He also has the third highest number of Man of the Match awards in Test cricket, with seventeen.30 He has scored the record number of runs in One Day International matches by a player who has never scored a One Day International hundred. His highest score was 86 runs.31 Cricket controversies

In 1992, after he had been successful against the English batsmen, accusations of ball tampering began to appear in the English media, though no video evidence of foul play was ever found. Akram and Younis had been able to obtain prodigious amounts of movement from both new and old cricket balls. The skill of the reverse swing delivery was relatively unknown in England and around the cricketing world during that period. A far larger controversy was created when critics alleged that he was involved in match fixing. An inquiry commission was set up by the Pakistan Cricket Board headed by a Pakistan high court judge, Malik Mohammad Qayyum. The judge wrote in his report that:32 This commission feels that all is not well here and that Wasim Akram is not above board. He has not co-operated with this Commission. It is only by giving Wasim Akram the benefit of the doubt after Ata-ur-Rehman changed his testimony in suspicious circumstances that he has not been found guilty of match-fixing. He cannot be said to be above suspicion. References ^ Wasim Akram. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 30 April 2007. ^ a b c ODI Career Bowling - Most Wickets. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 30 April 2007. ^ List A Limited-Overs Most Wickets in Career. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 30 April 2007. ^ "Wasim Akram, Steve Waugh inducted into ICC Hall of Fame". MSN Sports. http://sports.in.msn.com/cricket/article.aspx?cp-documentid=3261064. Retrieved 2010-08-06.  ^ a b "Akram biography". http://www.webcitation.org/5rgRJCtgc. Retrieved 2 August 2010.  ^ "Wasim Akram; talkcricket Legend". http://www.webcitation.org/5rgbZgFMr. Retrieved 2 August 2010.  ^ Dealing With Diabetes. Newsline. Retrieved on 30 April 2007. ^ The Sultan swings by. Toronto Star. Retrieved on 30 April 2007. ^ "Pakistan / News - Akram's wife dies at the age of 42". ESPN Cricinfo. http://www.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/story/431079.html. Retrieved 25 October 2009.  ^ Cricinfo staff (18 September 2007). "Lancashire on the brink of history". Cricinfo.com. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/countycricket2007/content/story/311431.html.  Retrieved on 11 October 2008. ^ Double jeopardy. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 30 April 2007. ^ Benson & Hedges World Cup - Final, England v Pakistan. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 30 April 2007. ^ "Akram announces retirement". Cricinfo. 2003-05-18. http://www.webcitation.org/5rgTcsNCa. Retrieved 2010-08-02.  ^ "KKR can win IPL’s 3rd edition: Wasim Akram". The News International. 11 January 2010. http://www.thenews.com.pk/updates.asp?id=95819. Retrieved 3 July 2010. dead link ^ "Pakistan's Mohammad Irfan in line for IPL contract". Cricinfo. 2010-08-10. http://www.cricinfo.com/pakistan/content/current/story/471812.html. Retrieved 2010-08-11.  ^ Lara rates Akram better than McGrath. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on 30 April 2007. ^ Tests - Most Wickets Taken Caught. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 30 April 2007. ^ Tests - Most Wickets Taken LBW. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 30 April 2007. ^ Tests - Most Wickets Taken Bowled. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 30 April 2007. ^ Home truths, and the greatest fast-bowling pairs. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 30 April 2007. ^ a b Test Career Bowling - Most Wickets. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 30 April 2007. ^ World Cup Bowling - Most Wickets. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 1 May 2007. ^ Pigeon v Wasim - who's the best?. The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved on 30 April 2007. ^ Hat Tricks in Test Matches. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 1 May 2007. ^ One Day Internationals - Hat Tricks. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 1 May 2007. ^ Four wickets in an over, and who's the Cockroach?. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 1 May 2007. ^ Pakistan v West Indies, 1990/91, 3rd Test. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 1 May 2007. ^ Tests - Highest Score at Each Batting Position. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 1 May 2007. ^ Tests - Most Sixes in an Innings. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 1 May 2007. ^ Tests - Most Man of the Match Awards. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 1 May 2007. ^ "Records / One Day Internationals / Batting records / Most runs in a career without a hundred". ESPN cricinfo. http://stats.cricinfo.com/ci/content/records/284205.html.  ^ Justice Qayyum's Report. Cricinfo.com. Retrieved on 1 May 2007. External links Player Profile: Wasim Akram from ESPNcricinfo Player Profile: Wasim Akram from CricketArchive Player Profile: Wasim Akram from Yahoo! Cricket Sporting positions Preceded by Aamer Sohail Pakistan Cricket Captain 1999-2000 Succeeded by Moin Khan Awards and achievements Preceded by Curtly Ambrose Wisden Leading Cricketer in the World 1992 Succeeded by Shane Warne v · d · eBowlers who have taken 300 wickets in Test cricket

Wasim Akram · Curtly Ambrose · Ian Botham · Kapil Dev · Allan Donald · Lance Gibbs · Richard Hadlee · Imran Khan · Anil Kumble · Brett Lee · Dennis Lillee Malcolm Marshall · Glenn McGrath · Muttiah Muralitharan · Makhaya Ntini · Shaun Pollock · Harbhajan Singh · Fred Trueman · Chaminda Vaas · Daniel Vettori Courtney Walsh · Shane Warne · Bob Willis · Waqar Younis v · d · eBowlers who have taken 5 wickets in a Test innings 25 times or more Muttiah Muralitharan • Richard Hadlee • Anil Kumble • Shane Warne • Ian Botham • Wasim Akram • Glenn McGrath v · d · eTest Cricketers who have scored 2000 runs and taken 200 wickets Andrew Flintoff (ENG) 69 Tests · Anil Kumble (IND) 110 · Chaminda Vaas (SL) 82 · Chris Cairns (NZ) 58 · Daniel Vettori (NZ) 69 · Garfield Sobers (WI) 80 · Ian Botham (ENG) 42 · Imran Khan (PAK) 50 · Jacques Kallis (SA) 102 · Kapil Dev (IND) 50 · Richard Hadlee (NZ) 54 · Richie Benaud (AUS) 60 · Shane Warne 100 · Shaun Pollock (SA) 56 · Wasim Akram (PAK) 78 v · d · eBowlers who have taken 400 One-Day International wickets Wasim Akram • Muttiah Muralitharan • Waqar Younis • Chaminda Vaas v · d · ePakistan squad – 1987 Cricket World Cup Semi-Finalists 1 Imran Khan (c) • 2 Abdul Qadir • 3 Ijaz Ahmed • 4 Javed Miandad • 5 Mansoor Akhtar • 6 Manzoor Elahi • 7 Mudassar Nazar • 8 Rameez Raja • 9 Saleem Jaffar • 10 Saleem Malik • 11 Saleem Yousuf (wk) • 12 Shoaib Mohammad • 13 Tauseef Ahmed • 14 Wasim Akram v · d · ePakistan squad – 1992 Cricket World Cup (1st title) 1 Imran Khan (c) • 2 Aamer Sohail • 3 Aaqib Javed • 4 Ijaz Ahmed • 5 Inzamam-ul-Haq • 6 Iqbal Sikander • 7 Javed Miandad • 8 Moin Khan (wk) • 9 Mushtaq Ahmed • 10 Rameez Raja • 11 Saleem Malik • 12 Wasim Akram • 13 Wasim Haider • 14 Zahid Fazal • 15 Muhammad Adnan • 16 Muhammad Zeeshan Aslam v · d · ePakistan squad – 1996 Cricket World Cup 1 Wasim Akram (c) • 2 Aamer Sohail (vc) • 3 Aaqib Javed • 4 Ata-ur-Rehman • 5 Ijaz Ahmed • 6 Inzamam-ul-Haq • 7 Javed Miandad • 8 Mushtaq Ahmed • 9 Rameez Raja • 10 Rashid Latif (wk) • 11 Saeed Anwar • 12 Saleem Malik • 13 Saqlain Mushtaq • 14 Waqar Younis v · d · ePakistan squad – 1999 Cricket World Cup Runners-up 1 Wasim Akram (c) • 2 Moin Khan (wk) • 3 Saleem Malik • 4 Ijaz Ahmed • 5 Waqar Younis • 6 Saeed Anwar • 7 Mushtaq Ahmed • 8 Inzamam-ul-Haq • 9 Saqlain Mushtaq • 10 Shahid Afridi • 11 Azhar Mahmood • 12 Abdul Razzaq • 13 Yousuf Youhana • 14 Shoaib Akhtar • 15 Wajahatullah Wasti • Coach: Mushtaq Mohammad v · d · ePakistan squad – 2003 Cricket World Cup 1 Waqar Younis (c) • 2 Abdul Razzaq • 3 Azhar Mahmood • 4 Inzamam-ul-Haq • 5 Mohammad Sami • 6 Rashid Latif (wk) • 7 Saeed Anwar • 8 Saleem Elahi • 9 Saqlain Mushtaq • 10 Shahid Afridi • 11 Shoaib Akhtar • 12 Taufeeq Umar • 13 Wasim Akram • 14 Younis Khan • 15 Yousuf Youhana • Coach: Pybus Persondata Name Wasim Akram Alternative names Akram, Wasim Short description Pakistani cricketer Date of birth June 3, 1966 Place of birth Lahore, Punjab, Pakistan Date of death Place of death